Summary

“’Twas the night before Candlenights, and all through the dorm…”

“Three idiots had completely lost track of time and were left scrambling to finish their stupid gifts for their stupid friends.”

Magnus, Merle, and Taako are doing their last minute Candlenights prep before the party the next day. For Taako, this involves his first serious stab at cooking in years, the first time since Glamor Springs. Merle and Magnus don't entirely understand what's going on in their quest to acquire free samples. But it doesn't take the world's greatest detective to figure out that their good buddy is stressed by something, and they want to help.

In the end, they actually do help Taako relax a little, and even score some macarons for their troubles. Candlenights really is a time for miracles.

Taako finds himself with a lot to think about, and it's not even all bad stuff anymore. That's quite possibly the biggest miracle of them all.

Summary

Cooking certainly wasn't something Taako had to do in his current position, but cooking was part of who Taako was. It was something he wanted to do. So, Taako needed to grill it into his head that he could cook again without poisoning and murdering the entire Bureau of Balance. The best way to do that, he decided, was to force himself. Force himself to work in the kitchen again.

Summary

"But I would bring you rings of gold, I'd even sing you poetry and I would keep you from all harm if you would stay beside me" Magnus dreams of things he wish he could forget. Spoilers for Eleventh Hour arc.